Leaving Seattle
by Surgery-Girl
Summary: After Christina’s wedding failed to happen and Mark left Seattle, Christina and Meredith decide to leave Seattle in search for a fresh start. But once they get there, they realize it will be a little harder than they thought. MerMark and Bang.
1. A Trip Down Memory Lane

_**Summery: After Christina's wedding failed to happen and Mark left Seattle, Christina and Meredith decide to leave Seattle in search for a fresh start. But once they get there, they realize it will be a little harder than they thought. MerMark and Bang. Slightly AU.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything to do with Grey's Anatomy. Sondra is being stubborn about selling it to me for my offer. **_

_They sat on the plane listening the engine rumble. Not a word needed to be said between the two. _

_Meredith looked over at Christina. _

"_We're really doing this."_

"_Yeah, we are." She sighed. _

_Meredith put her head back and shut her eyes remembering the day when he had first suggested their dating. A week later, she took him up on it. And, they started this thing._

"_**You could. Start over, Meredith. Start fresh." He said. His pager goes off. "Saved by the bell. Order me another beer."**_

_**She sighed and walked to the bar thinking about what Mark had said. She used to wait for Derek hoping he would come back to her. But now he was taking time. And, somewhere down deep she knew that they could never be the same. She would always have that pain somewhere in the back of her mind. **_

"_**Hi, I'm Derek Shepherd."**_

_**She turned to look at him. **_

"_**What are you doing?"**_

"_**We met in this bar, do you remember? We met and you said 'I'm just a girl' and I said 'I'm just a guy' and we started this thing. We started this thing. You didn't know anything about me .The good, the bad, the wife. You didn't even know my name. You didn't know me. I want you to know me. I want to start over, from the beginning. So hi. Derek Shepherd."**_

_**She looked over her shoulder to see Mark standing there and the words he said ran through her head once more.**_

"_**You walked away, and now it's too late. There's too much water under the thing or whatever."**_

"_**Meredith, please."**_

"_**We can't just start over Derek. We can't just… pretend that you never had a wife. Because even if we tried that I will always be looking over my shoulder. I will always be waiting for another Addison to show up. And… I can't do that. I'm sorry."**_

_**With that she walked back to her table and put on her coat before walking out of the bar. **_

"_We will be landing in Boston International Airport in five minutes. Please fasten your seat belts. I hope you're enjoyed your flight and will fly with us again."_

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_She stood at the window and watched people walked by on the streets down below. She turned and looked at her friend sleeping restlessly on the bed. She sighed and walked over laying down beside her. _

_**She walks into the door, crying. Meredith walks in trying her best to keep herself together knowing that she is all that Christina has right now. **_

"_**He's gone."**_

"_**I… I… I don't think he's gone. Uh, his stuff is here."**_

"_**No, it isn't. His trumpet was here. His entire Eugene Foote collection...vinyls and CD's...his grandmother's picture was by the bed. His lucky scrub cap was hanging on the door. He's gone. I'm...I'm free. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Oh, god. Get this off me. Take this off! Take this off! Please, just...I can't...help me, help me, help me!"**_

_**Meredith cuts the dress off and Christina breaks down in her arms. **_

_She quickly wiped the tears out of her eyes once she saw that Meredith was awaking. She rolled over and pretended to be asleep tying to avoid conversation._


	2. Three Years Later

_Three years later…_

Meredith woke up to the sound of her alarm going off. She rubbed her eyes before slipping out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.

She finished getting dressed and headed down the stairs.

"Hey."

"Hey," Christian said not looking up from what she was looking at.

"What time do you go in today?"

"Noon." She put down the paper. "Isn't it great?"

"Hmm?" She said raising an eyebrow as she sipped her coffee.

"No more interns."

"For now. We'll have them again in two months."

"I know… It sucks." She sighed.

Meredith nodded and sat down beside her. Little footsteps echoed through the house. They looked at each other and back at doorway. A little girl appeared. She had dark blonde hair and blue-gray eyes.

"Good Morning, Becca." Meredith said picking up her daughter.

"Hi Mama." Becca said wrapping her arms around Meredith's neck. "Hi, Christina."

"Hey." She said and walked over to the sink.

"Where's sissy?" Meredith said.

"Sweeping." Becca answered with a smile.

"Sleeping." Meredith corrected putting he down on the floor.

"That what I said, Mama, silly." The little girl giggled.

"She told you, Mer." Christina said.

"Is that right?" Meredith said picking her up and tickling her. The little girl squealed with laughter.

"Mama," A little voice interrupted them. They turned to see the little girl with black wavy hair.

"Good Morning, Audrey." Christina said picking her up.

"Mama, I hungry." She said sleepily.

"Okay, let's get something to eat." Meredith offered slipping Becca into her seat. "Is Abby still sleeping, Audrey?"

"Yes," She nodded.

"Mer, don't you have to get to work?"

"I told you yesterday. I don't go in until nine."

A couple minutes later, little footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Abby appeared in the doorway and made her way to the table.

"Good Morning, Baby," Meredith said and kissed her cheek.

Abby's hair was slightly darker than Becca's. She had her mother's eyes while Becca had her father's.

"You hungry?" She asked. Abby nodded as she climbed into her seat.


	3. Happy Birthday To You

"Audrey Grace Burke!" Christina called. "It's time to get ready for bed. I'm not going to call for you one more time."

"Girls!" Meredith called from the bathroom.

"No bed, Mama." Becca said as she chased Abby past the door.

"Yes, it is time for bed." Meredith said putting her hands on her hips trying not to get angry. The girls didn't pay an attention to her. "Abigail Marie Sloan! Rebecca Lynn Sloan! I'm not joking. Mommy has work in the morning and you need to get to bed. Now, come here and brush your teeth. I am so not kidding."

The girls look at her and she let out a long sigh. Their faces looked so innocent.

"I'm sorry I yelled. Mommy is very tired." She said picking them up.

She took them to the bathroom and helped them brush their teeth before taking them into the room they shared. It was painted light pink and had two twin beds on either side of the window. There was a little dresser that they shared and a small table. Toys were pilled up in the corner.

"Okay, lay down." She said putting them on the ground. The twins raced over and slipped into bed. She walked over. "Good night." She said and kissed their cheeks.

"Night." They said at the same time in their soft voices. Meredith clicked on the night light and left leaving the door cracked.

Christina walked out of Audrey's room soon after Meredith left the twins'.

"Are you going to bed?" She asked Meredith.

"No, I have to put the dishes away."

"What some help?"

"You can go to bed."

"You sure?" She yawned.

"Yeah, I am." She walked to the top of the steps.

"Alright. Good night, Mer."

"Night, Christina."

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She threw the sponge into the bottom of the sink letting out a long sigh. She walked over to the trashcan and pulled the bag out before walking to the back screen door. She took a deep breath of the fresh air as she walked over to the trashcans. She threw the bag in and turned to walk back into the house. She sighed and looked at the play ground where the kids play almost everyday.

_**Meredith walked out the screen door carrying a chocolate cake. Little candles stuck up from it. She smiled widely as she set it down in front of the girls. Christina came and sat next to Audrey. **_

"_**Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Abby and Becca. Happy birthday to you." They all sang. **_

"_**Make a wish and blow out the candles girls." Meredith coxed. The girls looked at each other than the four candles on the cake. They took deep breaths and blew them out. **_

_**Christina and Meredith clapped. **_

"_**How does it feel to be two?" Christian said.**_

"_**Cake." All three girls squealed at once. **_

"_**Here, Christina, cut the cake. I'll be right back." Meredith said walking towards the house. **_

_**She shut the glass door and walked over to the sink putting her hands on either side of it leaning down a little. A couple tears rolled down her cheeks, which she quickly wiped away. **_

She remembered thinking about Mark and him missing another birthday. She shook her head trying to rid it of those thoughts as she walked into the house.


	4. Magazine

_Seattle… _

Richard Webber walked through the halls of Seattle Grace Hospital. He held a magazine under his arm and wore a less than happy expression. He opened the door and slammed the door behind him. He let out a frustrated groan as he looked at the attendings and residents in the room. He threw magazine across the room and it slammed against the glass. They all jumped at the thud.

"What's going on, Richard?" Addison said.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Derek said.

"I am sick and tired of everything going on in this hospital. Over the last four years…" He let out a frustrated groan. They all sighed.

"Chief, with all due respect, is this another one of those…" Izzie starts.

"Dr. Stevens, I suggest you do not finish that sentence." He cut her off. He picked up the magazine and threw it on the desk. "I am not going to stand for this anymore."

"Chief, we just came back two days ago, so can we…" Burke started gesturing him and Mark.

"No." He cut him off. "Three years ago, Dr. Grey and Dr. Yang left."

The two men looked down.

"I am not putting up with these antics anymore. Dr. Shepherd…" Derek looked up. "Your relationship with Dr. Lexi Grey has been... a problem here at work."

"Richard, I don't see how this is relevant."

Richard stood up abruptly and his chair slammed back against the window.

"I'm not kidding, Derek. You know what the hell I'm talking about. You have been favoring. She's getting in on at least half your surgeries. She is a first year resident and is scrubbing in one surgeries that very few attendings would have the privilege of scrubbing in on. So try and tell me again that this on-off relationship is not damn relevant." He said hitting the desk. "If I see one more evidence of favoritism coming from you, Derek, you better pray to god you have your job when you get back from suspension."

"Chief, if you don't mind me asking, why such the big blow up now?" Addison said.

He grabbed the magazine and slapped it down on the table with a loud smack. All seven people leaned forward to see. On the cover of a nation medical magazine stood Meredith and Christina. They wore dark blue scrubs. Their long hair was draped down their shoulders. They held small smiles on their faces. It had a simple light blue background. Their shoulders were inches apart and they stood slightly to their sides with their feet slightly apart. Richard picked it up and turned to a marked page.

"Meredith Grey and Christina Yang are the brightest surgeons to come through the national internship program since Dr. Ellis Grey. Being a medical genius must be a gene, now a days. Meredith Grey is Ellis Grey's daughter. But it proves true that with every generation comes more knowledge. Dr. Ellis Grey would be very proud of her daughter, but at the same time envy her. It is thought that Meredith has surpassed her mother. If you add Christina Yang, top cardio resident, into the picture you have the dream team of medicine. After being trained for two years at Seattle Grace Hospital in Seattle, Washington, the two relocated together for personal reasons not wished to be disclosed. They were trained under the number ones in the nation including Derek Shepherd, Preston Burke, Mark Sloan, and Addison Montgomery. Now, they are hard working surgeons and plan to keep it that way… It goes on to talk about a surgery that the 'surgical dream team' preformed last month. It was the first time in medical history that two residents preformed the surgery without it being the original surgery plan. The media was all over it."

The room stayed silent thinking over what had been said. Mark stood up and walked out of the room letting the door shut heavily. Burke just sat there staring at the picture on the cover of the magazine.


	5. What Are We Going TO Do?

_Boston…_

Meredith looked at Christina then back at the magazine.

"We look like idiots." Christina said making a face.

"We look… okay." Meredith said picking it up. "I was worried about what they would print about us. They found out about the kids and…"

"Burke and Sloan." Christina finished with a nod. There was a long silence. She cleared her throat. "What does it say?"

Meredith flipped it to the article and read allowed.

"Meredith Grey and Christina Yang are the brightest surgeons to come through the national internship program since Dr. Ellis Grey. Being a medical genius must be a gene, now a days. Meredith Grey is Ellis Grey's daughter. But it proves true that with every generation comes more knowledge. Dr. Ellis Grey would be very proud of her daughter, but at the same time envy her. It is thought that Meredith has surpassed her mother. If you add Christina Yang, top cardio resident, into the picture you have the dream team of medicine. After being trained for two years at Seattle Grace Hospital in Seattle, Washington, the two relocated together for personal reasons not wished to be disclosed. They were trained under the number ones in the nation including Derek Shepherd, Preston Burke, Mark Sloan, and Addison Montgomery. Now, they are hard working surgeons and plan to keep it that way." As the Chief did in Seattle then continued in the article. "But, no, surgery isn't all they live for. Surgeries are not the only challenging thing in their lives. They, also, are single mothers. They help each other with the kids… Oh god." She let out a long sigh.

"What should we do?" They sat in silence for a little while.

"When do we stop hiding Christina? We don't even know if they ever came back to Seattle… If we were to go back there, I almost hope they have."

"Why?" Christina snorted. She looked at her friend's face. "You still love him? After he left?"

"What do you except from me, Christina? I love him more then I've ever loved Derek… or anyone. And you can't tell me that you don't have those feelings for Burke that you did back then, before the wedding, even a little bit."

Christina stayed quiet.

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_Seattle…_

Mark went home that night and dropped his belongings on the floor before walking over to the couch. He held in his hand a copy of the magazine. He sighed and opened it to the page. His eyes moved quickly over the part Richard had read and slowed down as he came to the rest. As he read, his eyes grew wide with shock.

"_There's no more hope for us." He thought. _

He flopped back on the couch letting his eyes fall close.

_**He looked around the dimly lit house. It might be the last time he ever walked out of that house. He slid the letter onto the counter so it was in plain view before walking to the door. He glanced around the living room once more before grabbing his suitcase and walking out. He hoped that one day she would understand why he left. **_

He didn't expect to fall in love with her when he first proposed they start dating. Honestly, he was just looking for a harmless fling to get over the loss of Addison. But as the weeks and months rolled by. The more he fell in love with her. And finally when he got his thoughts straight and realized what had happened. He knew he would hurt. And if he told her how he really felt then did something to fuck it up, it would only hurt ten times worse. He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't hurt her. So he made the rash decision to leave in the middle of the night. Once he realized that he couldn't make the feelings go away, he came back in hope to find her there. It was stupid when her looked back on it. He made another stupid mistake, only to find that it really bite him in the ass. By the time he came back, she was gone as was Yang.

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He got home to the apartment they had once shared. It stayed the same as it once had. The furniture that he had chosen years before he met her still sat in the original places. But something was always missing. Maybe it was that dirty piece of laundry that she always left on the floor of the bedroom. Maybe it was the half eaten cereal box stuffed beside the coffee pot as she ran out the door for a page. Maybe it was a lot of things. All he knew was, when he walked out of that church and away from the wedding he desperately wanted, he made the biggest mistake of his life. Soon after leaving Seattle, he realized that but it was too late. And it was all his fault.


	6. A Safe Return Home

It was late. They did it on purpose upon Christina's request not to hear the three kids whine the whole time. It was a rash decision, but there was no avoiding it. They didn't know what to except when they got there or if they would stay. They didn't know if the two men who had changed their life had come back or if they were still in unknown places. They didn't know how their friends would react, but it was something that had to be done. If they didn't, they weren't sure what would happen.

She looked over the seat at her sleeping friend sitting with Audrey beside her. Becca, Abby, and herself were sitting the row ahead of them. She turned her head back towards the front of the plane letting it flop back and her eyes closed. She could still remember the feelings she had when she found out that Mark had left. She could still remember how she felt when, a week later, Burke walked out of that church and she saw the look of pain on her friend's face. The week before and following her almost wedding were the hardest that the two had ever experienced. Mark left for god knows what reason. Christina's wedding failed to happen. Meredith found out she was pregnant with Becca and Abby. And they left. It wasn't for another week or so that Christina found out that she was pregnant with Audrey.

She opened her eyes and looked over at the twins. She could feel the tears burning her eyes. She had to look up to keep them from falling.

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They landed and Meredith looked over at Christina who was still sleeping away. But she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the whole time. She stood up after the first class had cleared out. She stepped back to be standing by Christina.

"Christina." She got no response. "Christina." She whispered a little louder shaking her arm a little.

"Hmm?" She said not opening her eyes.

"We landed." She said. "Come on."

She opened her eyes and took a second getting up. Meredith struggled to get the twins into her arms. They bother ended up waking up. Christina gather Audrey up and grabbed their carry-on bag before they walked off the plane to the gate.


	7. Can You Do Me A Favor?

_The next day…_

They settled into the hotel the night before. Neither slept too well, but the kids fell back asleep soon after arriving there. Now, they were sitting in the hotel coffee shop drinking their morning cup. Their kids sat at the small kid table not far away from the table Christina and Meredith shared. They were eating pastries and drinking chocolate milk while their mothers talked quietly.

"What do you think we should do?" Meredith said quietly. Christina shrugged.

"We really don't know what to expect so I think we should see if Izzie, George, or Alex will spill what has been going on."

"We don't even know if they still live at the old house. I gave them permission to, but I don't know if they did." She sighed.

"We don't even know who is still in Seattle."

"Yeah, maybe we should talk to the Chief. If he's still the Chief."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was." Christina said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah me neither." She sighed. "What do you think? Work from there?"

"Yeah, it's all we've got." Christian said sitting back in her chair.

"I have the number in my phone. We'll make the call once we go back up."

"Um, yeah. I guess."

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"Girls, just play with your toys, okay?" Christina said and they all nodded. She walked over to the bed that Meredith sat with her legs crossed on. "Ready?"

She shrugged. "As I'll ever be. But hey it's just Dr. Webber. Nothing big." A nervous smile played her lips as she hit send and brought the phone to her ear.

"Seattle Grace Hospital, Surgical Department. This is Lisa speaking. How may I help you?" A young sounding girl said.

"Ah yes, is Dr. Webber still the Chief of Surgery there?" Meredith said playing with the fringe of one of the bed throw pillows.

"Yes…" Lisa said.

"May I speak with him?"

"Hold on a second." She said. Meredith heard the phone click then it began to ring as she was transferred.

"Richard Webber, Chief of Surgery." He said simply.

"Dr. Webber?" Meredith asked.

"Yes, who is this?"

"This is Meredith Grey."

The line fell silent for a few minutes that she fully expected seeing as she hadn't talked to anyone in over three years.

"Meredith?" His voice was full of uncertainty.

"Yes. Um, Dr. Webber, Christina Yang and I are in town…"

"Here? In Seattle?"

"Yes."

"Wow. That's great. I read the article."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Um, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"Sure. What's up?"

"I need to know if there is going to be a big… blast from the past. Is Izzie Stevens, George O'Malley, Alex Kerev, Derek Shepherd, Addison Montgomery…?" There was a long pause. "Or Dr. Burke… and Mark Sloan… there?"

"Yes, Meredith, they're all here." His voice was soft. "Mark and Preston returned back to Seattle not too long ago. Mark had came back once before. Not long after you and Yang left. But once he found that you weren't here, he left again. I guess he hoped you'd be back by now."

Meredith stayed quiet. She looked at Christina with glossed over eyes.

"Thank you, Dr. Webber." Her voice cracked.

"Of coarse, Meredith."

"I should get going…"

"Meredith, if you and Yang ever want to… there's always a job here for you."

"Ah, thank you, sir." She wiped a tear away before it got too far down her cheek. Her eyes were set on the three girls playing on the other side of the room. They were so innocent. They didn't deserve to grow up the way she did. "It was good speaking to you. We'll be sure to talk to you later." She quickly hung up before he had a chance to respond.

"What did he say?" Christina quickly asked.

"They all are in Seattle."


	8. Knock Knock Knock

"What are we going to do?" Christina asked as they paced the floor.

"I don't know. I just don't know, Christina." Meredith said putting her finger on her chin.

"What about the kids?"

"I DON'T KNOW." She yelled.

"Okay, no need to yell." She shook her head and fell back on the bed. "Uh, one of us can go in at a time."

"No, we're doing this together. We started this together. We're continuing this together."

Christina nodded in response. Meredith sunk into the bed beside her.

"There's only one thing we can do." Christina said looking up at her.

"What?"

"Bring them in."

"Are you sure we should?"

"We don't know where they live. We at least need to be made known that we're here. See if they want to talk to us."

"It's not like we can hide the kids forever."

"Yeah."

"But can we bring three two year olds into a hospital."

"We do it all the time in Boston."

"That's different. People all know that we're mothers."

"Most people probably do if they read the article."

Meredith sighed. "What the hell should we do?"

"I don't know… Do you still own the house?"

"Legally yes. I pay the bills for it and it's in my name."

"So there's no way they sold it."

"They wouldn't be able to."

"Then, weather they live there or not isn't relevant since it is your house, you can go in there. Do you have a key still?"

"Unless they changed the locks."

"Okay, come on."

"We can't just go up in their house."

"One, it's yours. Two, we don't know they live there or not."

Meredith sighed. "Fine."

"See, I told you I was brilliant."

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, girls."

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"See there's a car. They have to live here."

"But, who. Izzie? Alex? George?"

"I don't know nor do I care."

"Do you think someone is home?"

"There's only one way to know." Christina said opening the passenger door. Meredith rolled her eyes and put the car in park. She looked in the backseat to see the three girls sitting drinking juice.

"Audrey, you know your mother is crazy, right?" Audrey smiled at Meredith making her giggle.

"Mama." Becca said holding her sippy cup out.

"Thank you very much, Becca." Meredith said taking the cup and setting it in the cup holder. She looked up at the house to see Christina knocking on the door. She held her breath as Christina shifted nervously.


	9. Party

The door opened and an older woman stood in it. Christina looked slightly confused but quickly bounced back.

"Uh, I must have the wrong house. My old friend Izzie Stevens lived here and I didn't know she…"

"You mean Izzie Kerev?"

"What?" Christina's eyes grew wide. "Izzie and Alex are married? Barbie and Evil Spawn are married?"

The older woman laughed. "Izzie and Alex are married. I'm the nanny, Sarah."

"Nanny? They have a kid?" Christina asked.

"Oh yes, Michael. He's a sweetheart."

"How old is he?" She asked.

"Only five months."

"Wow. I'm just… wow. Do you know when they'll be home?"

"Uh, Izzie will be home in a couple of hours."

"Okay, thank you."

"Would you like me to tell them you stopped by?"

"No, I'll come back." She called back as she walked back towards the car. She got in.

"Who was that?" Meredith asked.

"That was the nanny. Evil Spawn and Barbie are married… with a kid."

"Wow." Meredith sighed.

"I have Barbie." Becca cheered from the backseat as Meredith put the car in reverse.

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"What do we do now?" Meredith asked flopping back on the bed after putting the kids down for a nap. Christina shrugged. Her mind was in other places. "Christina? Are you listening to me?"

"No, what?"

"What are we are we going to do now?"

"I don't know." Christina shrugged looking at the ceiling. "I still say we bring the kids to the hospital."

"And say what if we run into Burke or Mark? 'Hey, guess what, you have daughters. Lets be one happy family.'"

"I think it would go over well." She laughed as Meredith hit her with a pillow.

"Do you love him?" Meredith asked after a long time.

"I don't know." She sighed. "Do you love him?"

"I don't want to but…"

"You do." Christina finished.

"Yeah."

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They returned to the house for the second time that day. It had been six hours since they were there last and the Seattle skies were getting dark.

"Ready?" Meredith sighed. Christina nodded and got out of the car. As she got closer to the house, she heard music. She brushed it off, but as she got closer and closer it became more and more evident that there was music playing. She knocked at the door which opened quicker than she expected. Izzie stood in front of her wearing a pink dress as she looked over her shoulder she noticed more people than she expected to see. Izzie was looking back at who was at the door but more at who was within the house. She turned her attention to who stood on her door step.

"Oh my god. Christina?" She almost squealed.

"I can come back later, since you're having a…" Her sarcastic tone faded once Burke came into vision though he wasn't looking at her. "Bye."

She quickly turned and hurried towards the car.

"Christina!" Izzie called from the door stepping out onto the porch.

Christina didn't stop until she got in the car. "Go!"

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"Who was that?" Alex asked as Izzie walked back into the house. "What?" He noticed her shocked look.

"That was Christina."

"What?!" Alex yelled drawing attention from the whole group.


	10. I Don't Know

"What's going on?" George asked holding a tray of food.

"Yang is back." Alex whispered.

"What?" George yelled dropping the food. The tray clanged on the hardwood floor. Now everyone was looking at the three residents.

"Uh, um… sorry. We, ah… yeah… Nothing."

"Way to stumble, Izz." George said.

"More like…way to pull an O'Malley." Alex smirked.

"That was mean." George glared at him.

"Boys…" Izzie yelled to stop the bickering pulling her husband and one of her best friends into the kitchen. "Let's stay on topic here."

"How do you know?" George asked quietly.

"She came to the door, but she saw something… and walked back to the car. What would she have seen? Burke?"

"Probably?" George nodded along with Alex.

"But the weird thing is… She got into the passenger seat." Izzie said sitting on the counter.

"So?" Alex shrugged.

"Who would she have been with? I mean she hasn't been in Seattle since she and… Meredith…. Could it have been Mer?"

"You're saying Christina and Meredith are in Seattle?" Alex said and Izzie nodded.

"What should we do? I mean, Burke and Mark are our friends." George said as Izzie sighed.

"So are Meredith and Christina. Even if they left, they are our friends."

"What do we do?" George asked again.

"I don't know." She sighed. "I just don't know."

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_The evening…_

Meredith laid in her room staring at the ceiling. After driving around as the kids slept in the back seat and both Christina and Meredith tried to talk each other down from a panic attack the little scene at Izzie's almost produced, they came back to the hotel. She quietly walked into the hall and knocked on Christina's door. It didn't take long for her to answer.

"Hey. Did I wake you?" She asked.

"No." She answered shutting the door behind her. She slid down the wall. Her knees up towards her chest. Christina sat across from her resting her head on her knee.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"I don't know." She sighed. "I'm not ready to face him."

"Me neither… God we're pathetic. We come across country to see them and we don't have the guts to see them."

"We didn't come to see them. We came to see our friends. We didn't know they were here."

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes. "You can't pretend you weren't hoping and praying he would be here."

"Like you weren't."

She scoffed. "He left me at the altar."

"Whatever, Christina." She stood up. "The sooner you admit it, the easier it will be to talk to him." She started towards her room.

"No, it won't. If I don't love him, there's nothing that can be crushed. I just go on living like I always have."

"What if that's not enough?" Meredith said quietly opening the door. "See you in the morning."

"Yeah, I guess." She whispered as Meredith walked into her room. She sighed pushing her hair out of her face. "It's going to be a long night." She stood up and returned to her room.


	11. Breakfast With Richard

Meredith's words ran through her head the next early morning. She head been restless night. Her thoughts never pulsing long enough to fall asleep fully. She watched her daughter sleeping and thought of her own childhood. Her real father died when she was four and her mother had a new husband almost every year. She always wanted for her father to be around; even though her father died in a car crash she had always blamed her mother. She had heard their fight and watched her father storm away from the house not knowing he wouldn't be alive long enough to ever come home again. Instead, he died in a hospital bed right in front of her clutching to her hand tightly until his grasp weakened and his heart stopped.

She kissed Audrey's cheek and rubbed her thumb over it slightly. She walked out and quietly knocked on Meredith's door. It was only four in the morning, but she had a feeling she wasn't getting much further on the whole sleeping thing.

She opened the door. Her eyes had dark circles under them and she looked tired.

"You're right." She sighed. Backing up, she pressed her back against the wall sliding down the wall. "Audrey has been looking more and more like him… and I can't stop thinking about his and…" He voice drifted. Meredith sat beside her putting her head on her shoulder.

"I know what you mean. I mean, look at Abby and Becca. Might as well be little McSteamies except for girls."

Christina chuckled putting her head on her knee.

"You know. If this... If Seattle doesn't work out for us… we can always go back to the way we were. Just the five of us. One big dysfunctional family." Christina said.

Meredith giggled. "We always have each other and the girls… But the girls shouldn't have to grow up like us…"

"Without fathers." Christina sighed and Meredith nodded.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They sat in the car in the parking lot of the restaurant.

"Are we really going to do this?" Meredith said looking at Christina.

She took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "It's just the Chief, right? I mean, what's the worse that could happen?"

"Mommy!" Abby squeaked. "Becca pulled my hair."

"Rebecca Lynn, don't pull your sisters hair."

"It her fault." Becca said.

"Both of you stop it."

"Ready?" Christina said looking at her watch.

"As I'll ever be." Meredith took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

It was an outdoor breakfast place that she had been to in the past. She could remember the last time she was there… with Derek. After they broke up, she stopped going there not wanting any memories of their breakfasts and his weird obsession with making sure she had a breakfast to pop back in her head. She and Mark had found a new place to eat that was just as good if not better.

She tried to get Mark off her mind as she helped Abby and Becca from the car. Christina got Audrey out and looked over the car at Meredith. She took a deep breath and they headed towards the restaurant.

She could see Richard reading the paper at one of the tables. Christina walked through the gate first holding Audrey's hand tightly. Meredith followed with the twins. Christina cleared her throat and Richard put down the paper.

"Meredith, Christina." He smiled. "It's good to see you."

"You too." They both said sitting down.

"And these must be your kids." He said smiling.

Meredith gulped. "Yes. This is Rebecca and this is Abigail or Becca and Abby."

"Hi. I'm Richard."

"Hi." They both said sheepishly cowering by Meredith's legs.

"And this is Audrey." Christina smiled. "Say 'hi,' Sweetie."

"Hi." Audrey said quietly.

"Hi, I'm Richard." Richard repeated. "They're beautiful… They look so much like…"

"Their fathers." Meredith finished lifting the girls into their seats.

"So Mark and Burke…?" He asked.

"Yeah." Christina said cutting him off. "No, they don't know."


	12. This Is A Mistake

"Come on girls

"Come on girls." Meredith said squatting down their height.

"Mama, can we get ice cream?" Becca asked.

Meredith giggled putting on their coats. "It's a little cold for that, Baby."

"Where are Christina and Audrey?" Abby asked her mother.

"They're having some mother/daughter time, like we are going to do right now."

"What's that?" Abby asked.

"Mother/daughter time?" She nodded. "That's where a mother, like me or Christina, spends time just with their daughters, like Audrey or you guys…" She said kissing their noses.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going on a boat."

"A boat?" They both said with wide eyes.

"Yep."

"Toot-toot." Abby giggled imitating a boat.

Meredith giggled picking Becca up in one arm. "Yep, toot-toot."

Abby took her mother's hand and they headed out the door.

* * *

Wind whipped her hair as she leaned over the railing. Becca and Abby were sitting on the deck not far away from her. Waves crashed against the side of the ferry boat as it cut through the water. Cool air blew her hair around. Closing her eyes, she thought about the last time they were on a ferry together.

_It was only a couple weeks before Christina's wedding was planned to happen. They had just left a lunch with the soon to be newly weds and had boarded the ferry home. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the sky was clear and the stars shinned brightly down over Seattle. He wrapped his arms around her as she stood at the railing watching the waves below. _

"_Hey." She whispered. _

"_Hey." He whispered back. _

"_It's so beautiful out."_

"_Yeah. I was almost forgetting what stars look like." He said looking up at the sky. _

"_Yeah. Me too." She said quietly leaning back into his chest. He tightened his grip around her kissing her cheek._

She sighed and looked up at the sky before turning away from the rail and watched her kids. Abby was standing with her eyes covered while Becca crouched behind a chair.

In that moment, she knew what she had to do. She knew what she had always needed to do.

"There you are… I see you, Becca." Abby said tagging Becca's head.

"Mama, do you want to play, too?" Becca asked.

"How about we wait until we get to the park?" Meredith said picking Abby up.

"Okay, Mommy." Abby said.

* * *

"Where are we, Mama?" Audrey asked looking around.

Christina looked up at the church. It looked the same as the last time she had seen it when Meredith was driving her away from it. She hoped the seeing it would insure her that she was over it. She hoped staring up at the place where Burke had walked away from her, she wouldn't feel anything. But she was wrong. It still hurt.

Looking down at her daughter, she forced a little smile. "Nowhere. We're going to go get some pizza, if you're hungry."

"Pizza!" She cheered as she skipped along side her daughter. "I love pizza. Can we get cheese pizza?"

"We can get whatever you want." Christina smiled as they stopped at the crosswalk. Glancing over her shoulder, she glanced back at the church where she was supposed to be married three years before. Picking up her daughter, she kissed her cheek.

"I love you." She whispered.

Wrapping her arms around her mother's neck, she smiled. "I love you too, Mommy."

--

Meredith was laying in one on the beds staring deep in thought at the ceiling. Christina walked into Meredith's room letting out a loud sigh. She fell horizontally across bottom of the bed propping her head up on her elbow, but Meredith didn't look up.

"This is so messed up." Christina sighed.

"What is?"

"This. We fly all the way to Seattle, then are too afraid to see anyone. When did we become so… scared of all this."

"I don't know."

Silence fell over them until Meredith just started laughing and kept laughing. Christina looked at her oddly.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I don't know." She laughed until her laughter turned to cries. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "Maybe cut off their penises."

She giggled despite herself. "What would I do without you?"

"Who knows? I'm amazing."

* * *

"This is a mistake." Meredith mumbled as she stared up at the hospital.

"Probably, but we've got to do it." Christina said back as she looked up at the girls in the back seat.

"Can you believe that we're here?"

"What's the worst that could happen? If we need to we can… move the day we leave up and get the hell out of here."

Meredith sighed looking nervously between the hospital and her person. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open. "Come on girls."


	13. No Turning Back, Right?

The hospital was exactly the same as it was before they left. Busily, people rushed around, and patients' families sat around in fear of what the doctors would say.

They walked through the sliding glass doors. Meredith hugged Abby tighter and gripped Becca's hand a little lighter as they walked further into the hospital. Christina held Audrey close.

"Mommy? I'm hungry." Abby pouted.

"I know, Sweetie. Maybe we can go down to the cafeteria in a little bit." Meredith answered.

"Yeah, there's a few things we have to take care of." Christina continued.

"Is this a hospital?" Audrey asked.

"This is where your mom and I worked before we moved." Meredith said.

"Is it cafeteria near here?" Becca asked. "Cause I'm hungry."

"I know. But, guys, this is really important. And if you're really good we'll get you some food soon."

They walked up to the reception and registration desk.

"What can I do for you?" The woman asked.

"Um, we worked here three years ago." Meredith said.

"Fascinating."

Christina glared at her. "We need to do see the chief."

"Do you have a appointment?"

"We just saw him this morning and he said we didn't need one." Christina shot back annoyed with the woman's attitude.

"Everyone needs one."

"It's fine, Jenny." Richard's voice came. "They're fine."

Christina gave Jenny a triumphant smirk before turning to smile at Richard.

"Just being sure, sir."

"Thank you. Come on, guys. We'll go to my office." He led them up the stairs, across the overpass, and to his office. Shutting his door, he turned to look at them. "What are you doing here?"

"We're facing the demons of our pass… if we happen to see them on the way to see Izzie, George, and Alex." Christina explained.

"I see." He nodded. "I'm happy that you are here."

"I'm hoping we don't see them especially since we have the kids." Meredith sighed.

"How about you let me drop them off in the daycare?" Richard offered.

"No it's fine." Meredith answered.

"Seriously. It's fine. They take kids for up to three hours if you aren't signed up." Meredith and Christina looked at each other and nodded. "Great."

They talked to Richard for a little longer before they said their goodbyes to their daughters and headed in their separate directions. Meredith and Christina stayed back in Richard's office for a little bit. Meredith sat in the seat across the room from Christina who was staring out the window watching the hospital below.

"Oh my god." Meredith said staring blankly at the wall. Christina turned to look at her.

"What?"

"We're in Seattle. Sitting in Seattle Grace Hospital."

Letting out a sigh, Christina nodded. "I know… It's surreal."

"This is a mistake. We should be in Boston. We… They…" She said as her breathing became faster until she was practically hyperventilating.

Christina walked over, crouched down in front of the chair, and grabbed her shoulders. "You have to breathe. Breathe, Mer. Deep breaths." Slowly Meredith regained control and looked at her person with tears in her eyes. She wondered how she could stay so calm when she was a wreck. "This was bound to happen at some point. And we're going to get through this."

"It just hurts to be here. It hurts to remember."

"I know." She nodded.

"How can you be so calm?"

Christina smirked shrugging lightly. "I'm Christina Yang."

"I just want to get this over with." She pushed a few hairs that had fallen into her face.

"Let's go get it over with."

Meredith stood up and headed towards the door. Christina stood up too, but stared hesitantly for a second.

"Ready for this?"

Christina forced a smile knowing she had to be stronger for Meredith than for herself. "What's the worst that could happen? We go back to Boston early?"

"Thank you, Chris."

"You're my person, Mer."

"Come on before one of us wises up and turns back."

Letting out a chuckle, Christina nodded. They both took a deep breath and headed out.

By the time they made their feet move, they felt like they already accomplished a big feat. Standing in the middle of the overpass, Meredith looked up from the nurses to look at her friends.

"Hard to believe, huh?" She turned so her back was to the hospital unable to watch it any long. She felt it would be better if they just kept talking each other through everything.

"Being here? Or that one of us hasn't tired to buy a plane ticket back to Boston?"

"Both."

"Then, yes. It's hard to believe."

"All of this would be easier if we had just sworn off men to begin with."

"That's for sure." Christina scuffed. Silence lingered between the two friends for a few moments as Christina watched the people below and Meredith watched the flags flap in the wind. "Ready for this?" She glanced at her friend who was giving her a 'seriously' look. "I know. It just seemed like the right thing to say."

Rolling her eyes, she walked along side with Christina not really know if she was really ready enough to go through with any of this. But there was no turning back now, right?


	14. Later?

They wondered around the hospital for a little while without seeing anyone they really noticed. They had seen a couple of nurses' they remembered and had heard the rumors that were already making their way around the hospital. But nobody they actually knew seemed to be around.

"Some things never change, huh?" Meredith said with a humored smirk as they waited for the elevator.

"What's that?"

"The gossip mill still booms with sappy stories of our loves and heartbreaks."

"That's for sure."

"Where should we go now? We should find Izzie, George, and Alex before we do anything, right?"

The elevator doors dinged and opened. And as if on cue, Alex and Izzie stood staring back at them. "Looks like we found them." Christina whispered not letting her eyes travel from the two people staring at them with jaws on the floor. Meredith just nodded. "Hey guys." Christina said finally breaking the silence. Slowly, Christina and Meredith stepped on before the doors started to shut.

"I didn't expect to see you guys here." Izzie admitted after a few moments of silence.

"We're ripping of the bandages quickly and painfully." Meredith said.

"This is… wow… We didn't think you guys would ever come back."

"We aren't… back, I mean. We're visiting." Christina confessed.

"You're leaving!" Izzie almost cried.

"We don't know." Meredith sighed. "It's a lot to handle and we really haven't handled it, yet."

"Where have you been?" Alex asked as the doors open, and they made their way down the hall.

"Boston." They both answered at the same time.

"We heard you got married and have a kid. Congratulations." Meredith smiled.

"Yeah." Izzie beamed holding up her hand so they could see her rings.

"They're gorgeous, Izz." Meredith said. "I wish I were there."

"How'd you convince her, Evil Spawn?" Christina asked looking at him suspiciously.

"Convince her of what?"

"That you could pay for her and her Barbie convertible."

"Good old Christina." Izzie laughed not bothering to object to the 'Barbie' comment.

"So you aren't… mad?" Meredith asked cautiously.

"Maybe a little, but… at least you're here." Izzie smiled.

"Where's Bambi?" Christina asked.

"Around here somewhere." Alex shrugged.

"So… um, have you seen them?" Izzie asked awkwardly.

Both woman stiffened and shifted from foot to foot. "No." Christina answered slowly.

"Are you going to?" Alex inquired.

"We don't know." Meredith quickly replied.

"Come on, let's get some coffee." Alex offered putting his hand on Izzie's lower back as he led the three women toward the coffee cart.

--

They were sitting at their usual lunch table sipping coffee making small talk mostly about where their careers ended up. Neither Meredith nor Christina had the courage to bring up the Mark/Burke topic. It was hard to believe they were sitting there talking as if nothing happened. Except everything did. Three years ago, they left Seattle heartbroken, in love, and alone. They had each other and pushed each other to forget the pain and keep it hidden. Now, they had kids. Kids that Mark and Burke didn't know about!

"Meredith? Christina?" A voice came from behind them. They both froze before Meredith recognized the voice and turned to look at him.

"Hey George." She smiled as she stood up.

Christina also stood up. "Bambi-Boy."

"Izzie said you were back." He commented as he hugged Meredith.

"Yeah." Meredith sighed standing there feeling a little awkward. They were their friends. Why was it so hard to feel normal?

Christina was about to say something when Richard walked up.

"Meredith?" He sighed as he stopped in front of her.

"What's up?"

"Abby needs you."

"What's wrong?" She instantly got concerned.

"I'm not sure. She's not hurt, but she's crying. She really wants to see you."

Meredith nodded. "I'll be right there."

Richard nodded and walked away.

"Who's Abby?" Alex asked.

She froze. Christina did as well and gave Meredith a sideways glance.

"A lot has changed since we left." Meredith sighed.

"What kind of stuff?" Izzie asked cautiously.

"We can't talk about it now. We have to go." Christina said.

"Can we talk at your house later?" Meredith asked. They all nodded. "See you then."

Before anymore question could be asked, they rushed away. It was going to be one hell of a day.


	15. Telling Their Friends

Meredith and Christina managed to get the kids, say goodbye to Richard, and slip out of the hospital feeling like they accomplished something. They had been able to have the strength to wonder through the hospital long enough to see their friends and promise them that they would tell them the _whole_ truth later that night. It was a step closer to face their past completely. Sure it was a small step, but it was a step.

They returned to the hotel not long after leaving the hospital to find all three girls already asleep in the back seat. It was well past their afternoon nap so it wasn't surprising to find them like this. Christina grabbed Audrey and Meredith managed to get both the girls in her arms which she was getting better and better at over the years. Christina headed through the lobby of the hotel first and waited for the elevator that arrived by the time Meredith caught up. After lying Audrey in bed, she opened the door for Meredith. After tucking in all three girls, Meredith and Christina met in the hall to talk.

"Are you ready to tell the story?" Meredith asked.

"I don't know. What's the worse that could happen? We can always go back to Boston and act like nothing happened." They both knew that after they crossed this line there was no turning back. There would be no erasing it from their minds or trying to forget Mark Sloan and Preston Burke ever existed. After they made their presence in Seattle known to them, it was all or nothing. And for the kids sake, it had to be all.

"I wish." Meredith mumbled.

--

They got to Meredith's old house around seven o'clock with the girls in the back seat. Christina got out first and began to get Audrey out of the back seat. Meredith did the same in followed Christina towards the door with the girls in tow. It wasn't long until the door opened, and Izzie smiled brightly at them. It was only when she noticed the kids did her face turned from happy to confused and shocked.

"This is what changed." Meredith said quietly.

"You aren't the only one with a kid." Christina commented pushing past a very stunned Izzie. Alex and George were sitting on the couch watching TV until they saw Christina appear. Alex quickly turned it off and stood to great them. But his intentions fell short when he noticed Abby, Aubrey, and Becca. George sat there wide-eyed as he studied the girls faces. There was something familiar about them

"Um, hey." Meredith said breaking the awkward silence.

"Okay, you have got a lot of explaining to do." Izzie said still pretty flabbergasted.

"You think, Barbie?" Christina said sarcastically.

"Is it alright if the girls play on the floor?" Meredith asked the toys in her bag. Izzie absently nodded. "Okay, girls, we have to do some grown-up talking, so why don't you go play?" She received three nods and handed Abby the bag of toys. Happily the girls walked off oblivious to what was going on.

"Um, sit down." Izzie offered as she took a seat between her husband and best friend. Meredith and Christina took a seat on the other seat that sat off to the side compared to the couch the others were sitting on. Silence lingered in the air other than the girls soft talking. Nobody dared to break it. Nobody knew what to say.

"Why'd you leave?" Surprisingly, Alex was the first to break the silence.

"They left." Christina said simple. "He left me at the altar."

"He just… left. We couldn't stand to be her and see the places where we always would associate with them. Even working was hard. We couldn't stay here and move on." Meredith added.

"So you've moved on?" Izzie asked.

Shutting her eyes, Meredith took a deep breath. "No. I love the children he's given me. And I will probably always be in love with him. But we try to put it behind us for them. And I can't. Part of me wants to hate him for leaving me. Part of me is just happy to know where he is."

"I honestly don't know if I'm in love with Burke or not." Christina admitted. "He hurt me in a way nobody had ever done. But I love him for giving him Audrey."

It that moment when they heard Christina talk like that they knew the barriers were broken. They were speaking exactly how they feel. Skeptical feelings drifted away.

"They're their fathers?" Izzie asked. Both Meredith and Christina nodded. "What are their names?"

"Audrey Grace Burke." Christina answered with pride in her voice.

"Abigail Marie Sloan and Rebecca Lynn Sloan."

"They're beautiful." Izzie said softly with a smile.


End file.
